Wednesday, July 29, 2009

The New York Federal Reserve has just published a new report entitled "The Shadow Banking System: Implications for Financial Regulation".

One of the main conclusions of the report is that leverage undermines financial instability:

Securitization was intended as a way to transfer credit risk to those better able to absorb losses, but instead it increased the fragility of the entire financial system by allowing banks and other intermediaries to “leverage up” by buying one another’s securities. In the new, post-crisis financial system, the role of securitization will likely be held in check by more stringent financial regulation and by the recognition that it is important to prevent excessive leverage and maturity mismatch, both of which can undermine financial stability.

That is true.

In fact, every independent economist has said that too much leverage was one of the main causes of the current economic crisis.

However, notwithstanding the NY Fed's recommendations, the Federal Reserve and Treasury have, in fact, been encouraging massive leveraging.

As I pointed out in October, in an article entitled "In Trying to Stop the Inevitable Deleveraging Process, the Government is Only Making It Worse":

By trying to put out the raging deleveraging forest fire, the government is actually fanning its flames and making it more dangerous. And even in those areas where the government appeared to put out the fire, there are hot coals just beneath the surface that are already erupting back into flame.

But the blame does not solely rest with Summers, Bernanke and Geithner.

As I have previously documented, economists pushing voodoo theories justifying the tremendous increase in leverage were promoted and lionized, while those questioning such nonsense were ridiculed.

In other words, economists and financial advisors - in academia, government and elsewhere - have been subservient to the financial elites, and have trumpeted the safeness and soundness of cdos, credit default swaps, and all of the rest of the shadow economy which allowed leverage to get so out of hand that it brought the world economy to its knees.

This is no different from the promotion of sports doctors to become team doctor when they are willing to inject various painkillers and feel-good drugs into an injured football star so he can finish the game. If he is willing to justify the treatment as being safe, he is promoted. If not, he's out.

Economists have acted like team docs for the financial giants. When the football team doctor who gives the injured patient steroids and stimulants and tells him to get back in the game, it might be good for the team in the short-run, but the patient may end up severely injured for decades.

When economists have prescribed more leverage and told the banks to go trade like crazy to get the economy going again, it might be good for the banks in the short-run. But the consumer may end up being hurt for many years.

2 comments:

Thank you, George. Given the facts, I have two hypothess of the motivation of our "leadership" in economics. One: crash the economy as a prelude for causing riots/domestic terrorism in order to officially declare martial law. This makes it easier to keep the sheeple in place.

Two: "leadership" is divided and out of control between factions taking as much as they can right now, factions acting for the US Constitution and the public, and the fascists.

They act like team doctors to keep their income in tact. One of the leading economists said earlier this year that no named economist can say what he knows is happening if he wants to keep his chair and his grants coming in. Like most in leadership roles today they do what is good for them. The President, the congress, the military the brass everywhere say what will further their career. As long as you understand that , maybe it doesn't matter! Bullshit, it does matter, what to do about it is the problem.

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